Clamp or holder and box for soap



(No Model.) 1

- W. A. WEED.

CLAMP. 0R HOLDER AND BOX FOR SOAP.

No. 423,296. Patented Mar. 11,1890.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. \VEED, OF'CI-IICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CLAMP OR HOLDER AND BOX FOR SOAP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,296, dated March11, 1890.

Application filed December 5, 1889. Serial No. 332,665. (No model.)

To a whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, I/VILLIAM A. WVEED, of Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in Clamps or Holders and Boxes for Soap, drc.,of which thefollowing is a specification.

My invention relates to a certain improvement, hereinafter specificallyclaimed, involving the employment of a box of the class having a body orcase closed at one end and open at the other end to receive a slidingcover for closing said open end; and my objects are to provide a simpleand inexpensive clamp or holder for cakes of tooth-soap, shaving-soap,and other articles, and to adapt such holder to slide within the box,close its open end, and confine the cake of soap, &c., which holder,when withdrawn, carries the clasped article with it and may be graspedby the fingers while the article is being used as, for instance, inrubbing a tooth-brush over the soap andapplying lather to the face.

In the accompanying drawings, which show a suitable embodiment of myinvention, Figure 1 is a View in perspective showing the box-case withits end-closer clasping a cake of soap and partially withdrawn from thebox-case. Fig. 2 is a'similar View showing the clamp in place in thebox-case, and Fig. 3 a like view of the clamp alone.

A flexible clamp or yielding holder A, best constructed of spring metal,is made open at one end and at opposite sides, so as to be substantiallyUshaped and of a size to receive,

in this instance, a cake of tooth-soap B, to be clamped thereby. Abox-ease or body 0, open only at one end, and by preference of metal, ismade of dimensions such as to adapt its open end to be closed by theholder when it, with the soap clamped between. its jaws a, is slid intothe case. The parts should be so proportioned that when the holder isslid into the case the holder is caused to yield or spring sion of theholder to removably clamp it in the boX-case, the holder at and near itsend 1) is made of a width between its jaws slightly in excess of thethickness of the soap-cake B or equivalent article to be clamped. Thedistance between the yielding jaws at and toward their outer ends shouldbe somewhat less than the thickness of the article to be clamped, sothat when it is inserted between the jaws they are slightly spreadapart, thus exerting a clamping action on the article.

To insure a firmer grasp upon the article by the holder than wouldresult merely from frictional contact therewith of the holder, I provideone or more inward projections cl upon each jaw of the holder, whichmay, as shown, be formed by short lips or spurs struck or punched fromthe material constituting the jaws and near the outer ends thereof.

To enable the combined holder and boxend cover to be readily grasped bythe fingers to withdraw it from the box-case, notches or finger-slots Dare provided in the case at its open end.

From the above description it will be seen that by grasping the holderin the fingers the article carried thereby becomes firmly clamped foruse; that by releasing the holderjaws from pressure of the fingers, and,if needed, slightly spreading apart the jaws, the article may beadjusted to different positions and caused to project more or less fromthe holder, and then again clamped; that when the holder is shoved intothe box-ease the end of the case is closed and the holder and containedarticle secured within the box-case, and that in opening the box byremoval of the holder the clamped article is withdrawn with it. Itwillfurther be understood that when a cake of soap is clamped it may be heldwithout coming in contact with the fin- 9o gers, and that itmay beadjusted in the holder as consumed by use, as by rubbing a toothbrushupon it or in rubbing the soap upon the face for shaving.

I do not wish to be understood as confining 5 my invention in allrespects to the precise details of construction and arrangementhereinbefore described, as various modifications may be made withoutdeparture from my im- PIOVQHIGDES-ZLS, for instance, by the employ- 10oment of other material than metal; by providin g a finger-hold or handleupon the holder for withdrawing it from the box-case; by providing theprojections d near the inner ends at one end and the holder or clamp fora cake of soap, &c., formed with the two yielding jaws united at one endand open at one end and at opposite sides, and serving to close the end15 of the box-ease, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof I' have hereunto subscribed my name.

WVILLIAM A. \VEED.

Witnesses:

E. P. KASTLER. ADOLF G. VOGELER.

